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Generator Interconnection Cost Analysis in the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) Territory

Publication Type

Policy Brief

Date Published

04/2023

Authors

Seel, Joachim, Julie Mulvaney Kemp, Joseph Rand, Will Gorman, Dev Millstein, Ryan H. Wiser, Ari Weissfeld, Nicholas DiSanti, Kevin Porter

Abstract

Electric transmission system operators (ISOs, RTOs, or utilities) require new large generators seeking to connect to the grid to undergo a series of impact studies before they can be built. This process establishes what new transmission equipment or upgrades may be needed before a project can connect to the system and assigns the costs of that equipment. Berkeley Lab has collected interconnection cost data for 845 projects from interconnection studies for the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) Territory. The studies were performed between 2002 and 2023 and include all of the most refined cost estimates available. Project-level cost summary data are available for download on this page.

We find:

Project-specific interconnection costs can differ widely.
Average interconnection costs are stable for projects that complete all interconnection studies but have escalated for those that withdraw.
Broader network upgrade costs are the primary driver of recent cost increases, especially for withdrawn projects.
Potential interconnection costs of all solar and wind requests have been greater than those of storage and natural gas projects.
Economies of scale exist for completed wind and solar projects but not for other fuel types or withdrawn projects.
Interconnection costs vary by location.

Berkeley Lab publishes a series of short analytical papers of generator interconnection costs to the transmission system for MISO, PJM, SPP, ISO-NE and NYISO, which you can find at https://emp.lbl.gov/interconnection_costs.

Year of Publication

2023

Notes

An overview of this study can be viewed here.